Facts
The appellant [A.] requested the Federal Court to determine that he had parental custody of the three children [C.] , [D.] and [E.] , and to grant him visitation rights. The children had been placed with foster families after the death of their mother, an Eritrean asylum seeker. The Child and Adult Protection Authority [U.] (KESB) had established a guardianship and granted the appellant a visitation right limited to four months.
The Basel-Landschaft Cantonal Court dismissed the appellant's appeal against the KESB's ruling. The appellant then appealed to the Federal Court in a civil matter.
The appellant claimed that he was married to the children's mother and therefore had a legal parent-child relationship. However, the lower court had found that the marriage could not be recognized, as it had only been celebrated in a church in Italy and was not recognized at the locus celebrationis.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the appeal and concluded that the lower court had correctly found that there was no legal parent-child relationship between the appellant and the three children. The appellant had argued that he was married to the mother and therefore, by virtue of the presumption of paternity, had a legal parent-child relationship. However, the lower court had correctly countered that the marriage could not be recognized.
The Federal Court stated that parental custody can only be granted to a person who has a legal parent-child relationship. Since there is no legal parent-child relationship between the appellant and the children, the appellant cannot have parental custody. The establishment of a guardianship by the KESB was therefore not objectionable.
The…